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Qantas has agreed to pay $120 million to settle a dispute with the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, over selling tickets to flights that had already been cancelled.

Under the settlement, the airline will institute a remediation program for affected passengers, with payments ranging from $225 for affected domestic customers to $450 for international customers, which are expected to total about $20 million.

The aviation giant will also pay a $100 million civil penalty to the federal government for breaching the Australian Consumer Law.

The Federal Court needs to approve the deal, and payments are not expected to be made until next financial year, after June 30.

Australian Shareholders Association (ASA) CEO Rachel Waterhouse said it was good to see that affected customers were given the option of a refund or an alternate flight, but that for shareholders, "this is a very bitter pill to swallow, given the large amounts paid to execs who effectively mortgaged the future of the company to ensure they made the most of the remuneration plan".

"The payments for affected customers provides compensation for the inconvenience," she said in a statement to The Business.

"If Qantas went to court, they may have ended up with a larger fine and remediation cost plus an enormous legal bill. Even if they did have a defence to run, the reputational damage could have been extremely large."

You can watch my story on The Business about the Qantas-ACCC settlement here:

I'm from Melbourne, so I don't buy my coffee from Starbucks, but it seems even Starbucks lovers have been turning away in recent months.

The company's shares recently plummeted, almost 16 per cent, after the the US conglomerate announced dragging sales in the first quarter of the year, attributing it to economic concerns, weather impacts and changing consumer behaviour.

Management has said the company is investing in new technology to speed up orders and enhance customer experience.

But former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz thinks the company needs to return the focus to its people to regain its edge.

Schultz, who left the company's board last year after helping build it into a global brand, wrote that Starbucks needs to win back the confidence of its staff and customers.

"The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant," he wrote on LinkedIn.

"The answer does not lie in data, but in the stores."

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (AP)

Schultz said that the company's lagging US sales were "the primary reason for the company's fall from grace" and urged Starbucks executives and board members to "spend more time with those who wear the green apron."

"One of their first actions should be to reinvent the mobile ordering and payment platform—which Starbucks pioneered—to once again make it the uplifting experience it was designed to be," he wrote.

"The go-to-market strategy needs to be overhauled and elevated with coffee-forward innovation that inspires partners, and creates differentiation in the marketplace, reinforcing the company's premium position. Through it all, focus on being experiential, not transactional."

"There are no quick fixes. But the path forward should be what has guided the company over decades of financial success: Inspire your people, exceed the expectations of your customers, and let culture and servant leadership lead the way."

The Australian arm of the US chain has also recently come under fire. After self-reporting to FairWork in 2020 that it had shortchanged its Australian store workers, last September the company handed back more than $4.5 million in wages to them.

Read more about the former boss who tried to run as a candidate for US President here:

ANZ has reported a 7 per cent fall in cash profit at $3.55 billion in its first half results.

The major bank also announced a $2 billion share buyback.

It has declared its proposed interim dividend at 83 cents per share, partially franked at 65 per cent.

ANZ shares were last trading 1 per cent higher at 28.77.

Nervous about another rate rise?

Some economists think there is a slight possibility the RBA could raise rates again before year's end. But most think rates will stay on hold.

The central bank meets later today, which will be followed by a press conference by Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock.

More on that from Peter Ryan here: